Sacrifices
by AndrogynousOne
Summary: Stuck in Harlan County after the murder of their parents, Delia elects to use Boyd to earn enough money to get her brother out of Kentucky. (I brought Bo back from the dead but ignore it lol)


"I have a special part for you in this, darlin'," Boyd said to Delia.

"Whatever you need, baby," she agreed instantly, drinking from the glass in front of her. Boyd smiled happily at her prompt agreement. She was the only one who had orange juice instead of beer.

"Now, why can't the rest of y'all be more like her? She doesn't go around arguing with the boss like the rest of you dumb hicks."

"That might be 'cause she ain't from 'round here, Boyd," one of the men told him.

"That was a rhetorical question, Trey, but if we're all like you then I suppose she should take that as a compliment. Now, if y'all are done dicking around, may I proceed with your permission?" Trey shrugged and rolled his eyes. "Delia, I'm goin' to need some eyes on the outside and you are the only one I'd trust out there."

That night Delia prepared her things. Apparently, they would have to be in another city for some time. Her twelve year old brother was in her room sitting on her bed. "Why do you have to go? Why couldn't he use someone else?" he wondered.

"Because Boyd trusts me. Not going would be suspicious."

"Uh huh. A kid at school said no one should talk to Boyd. Are you coming back?"

"I intend to."

"I'm sure Mom and Dad did too."

She stopped taking things out of her dresser and turned to him. "Nathaniel, we came here for Boyd. I know what I'm doing. I just need him for a little while longer."

"You know, you're using a user. What if he finds out?"

"We're robbing a bank in New York. More specifically, Boyd is. I'll be fine. I know what I'm dealing with. He's very predictable. Not a word about it to anyone. You know that."

"I do."

"Okay, he'll be here soon so do you have all your things ready?"

"Yeah." Nathaniel pulled his backpack onto the bed.

"Alright, come on. I'll take you across the street."

Delia had only been in Harlan County for a year but she managed to make a friend, a mother of a boy who befriended Nathaniel. May Lynne was a year younger than Delia and had a son a year older than Nathaniel. They agreed to let him stay with them for as long as Delia had to be gone. "Thank you so much for taking him for this long. I feel bad just asking," Delia told her as she stood on her front porch with Nathaniel in front of her.

"It's fine," May Lynne waved her off. "Don't worry 'bout it. I'm the one who volunteered. Nathaniel, go on inside. Daniel's puttin' on a movie." After he was out of earshot, she inquired of Delia, "what you want me to do if you don't come back?"

"I'll be back. Don't you worry about that."

"You know, I…" May Lynne rubbed her hands together anxiously. "I probably shouldn't say anything, seeing as how it ain't none of my business but I hope you know that Nathaniel admires you and seeing you gettin' in trouble ain't gonna be the best thing for him right now but you probably already knew that. Just… don't forget that Boyd's got nothin' to lose so if you find yourself in a bad position, you don't worry 'bout him. You just worry 'bout gettin' your ass back here for Nathaniel and gettin' the hell outta Harlan County."

By the next morning, Delia was in New York at a hotel with Boyd, across the street from the bank they were planning on hitting. "I was wonderin'," Boyd told her, as he lay on the bed watching her stare out the window, thinking only of her goal. "Why did you agree to come with me?"

"Somebody has to be looking out for you. I'm not going to leave your safety up to chance or to those retards you have working for you." She turned to him slowly and walked over to the edge of the bed. "I think you need to be sure your distractions are set up properly. If I were you, I wouldn't trust your boys to get it done right. You should probably go check on them."

He did not seem too eager to leave the room. "I don't know. They've proven to be capable on occasion."

"Do you want to risk it? It's okay, Boyd. You go on ahead," she sat on the edge of the bed, resting her hand on his leg. "I'll show you my appreciation when you get back."

The moment he was gone, Delia went into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror, leaning over the sink like she was going to vomit. "I can do this. Everything's going to be fine. Just be cool."

At three in the afternoon, Delia went with Boyd into the bank and they stood together at the table filling out a deposit form. Delia glanced over at Trey sitting on the couch, dressed in a suit like he was waiting for a job interview or to apply for a bank account. One of the other two, Luke, had gone to the bathroom. The last one, Kenny, was in line waiting for the next teller.

Boyd turned up from his paper, to Delia, "darlin', do you by any chance have a pen on you? This one needs to be retired."

"I don't."

"Would you mind fetchin' me one from the car, sweetheart?" He handed her the keys.

"Okay, I'll be right back."

The moment the bank doors closed behind her, Delia heard the boys fire their warning shots and nearly smiled. She turned back to the door quickly and the security guard outside promptly ushered her away. She could see through the glass walls that Trey was shooting out the cameras. "Boyd!" she screamed at him, cracking her voice. "You promised! How could you do this to me?!"

Delia was sidelined as she watched the street filled with cops and SWAT trying to figure out a plan for entering the bank. They took her cell phone and repeatedly tried to contact Boyd but he was ignoring all the calls, as she knew he would. Without a call, no arrangement could be made for the release or safety of the hostages so no one on the outside would dare make a move without getting to talk to the man in charge. Delia's stomach started to twist as more and more cars arrived and it became a bigger deal. She could only hope Boyd would stick to the plan devised.

Boyd had taken everyone into an office upstairs, where they would be unseen by anyone outside. "Trey," Boyd sat in a chair with a shotgun sprawled across his lap when he called to him. The hostages were all laid out before him on the floor. "You let me know the moment you get that vault open."

"Sure thing."

Boyd stood up and walked between the hostages. "Now folks, I have no problem putting a bullet in the first person to ignore the rules I'm about to lay down. Now as long as you lie here and enjoy this midday nap, you'll all be walking out of here in one piece, which I too, would prefer."

About an hour after the bank was initially taken, SWAT called Boyd again with Delia's cell. She listened to the conversation as best she could and it helped that they put him on speaker.

"Who am I speaking too?"

"To a man you have severely underestimated but before you continue with your script, I'd like to come right out and say that I am not interested in any form of negotiation."

"Then what's to keep us from going in?"

"I'll have what I came for and y'all will stay out of it until I decide otherwise. Your boys make a peep and I've got a mother with a newborn baby who'll make an early trip to Jesus. Now how would like that on your conscious?"

"I think we both know you don't want that."

"Well, I invite you to try me and find out."

When the SWAT commander got off the phone with Boyd, he instantly turned to Delia. "You," he called her, "you're that guys girlfriend?"

"I was. I'm just staying to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

"It's little late for that, don't you think? You need to stick around. Major Case is on their way and they're going to want to talk to you."

Delia ran through the specifics of the plan again in her mind, making sure she would only say what would lead the detectives the way they needed them to go. She went through it so many times and was so confident, it was almost difficult for her to appear distraught when she was finally approached by the investigating Major Case detective, Cody Wilson. He was quite a bit taller than she was, with a broad chest and short blond hair. He was wearing a plaid flannel, jeans and gators.

"Tell me your name and what happened."

"Not much to tell. I'm Deliana Quintanilla. He sent me out to the car for a pen before his boy started shooting," Delia explained. "The one in the bank wasn't working."

"Which car is it?"

"The first one on the edge of the parking lot." She took the key from her pocket and pushed the button to unlock the car automatically and a building just down the street exploded. Delia dropped the key on the floor and jumped back from it.

Boyd could hear the explosion from inside the office and smiled slightly. He took his cell phone out and called Delia's. Cody took the phone before anyone else could.

"You've made an awful lot of noise out there," Boyd chuckled, "but I think I may be willing to overlook that transgression. Is my woman still alive?"

"She is."

"Well, it seems like the help isn't as capable as I believed them to be. Please send her my dearest apologies and inform her that next time I will not miss. There's no salvation for those without faith." Hearing him made Delia feel like laughing. She could hardly believe how well Boyd was pulling off the role she had given him to play. "That said, seeing as how my business here is nearly at its end, I'll be willing to part with half of my hostages. Try not to shoot 'em on their way out."

Delia was pleased to see Luke among the hostages released. He gave her a quick glance to be sure she noticed him. After receiving a quick look over by the ambulance, he was released and promptly went ahead to his next post.

"What did you ever see in this guy?" Cody told Delia.

"He's desperate," she replied quickly, trying to make excuses for him. "He always says that his world has a high cost of living. He said he'd given up on these schemes. Well," she looked down at the floor, "it would've been better had his boys set up the bomb right. It would've served me right for ever believing him." Her voice crack and she covered her face, even though she was laughing, satisfied with the situation.

Inside the bank, Trey returned to Boyd and told him the vault was open. "You stay here with the hostages," Boyd told him as Trey handed him a briefcase.

Boyd went down to the basement where the bank's vault was. Trey and Kenny had created a small hole just big enough for one person to crawl into and sawed a hole through the base of the vault to reveal cement underneath. Boyd looked around the room to be sure everything had been done correctly. The money and precious items stored in the safety deposit boxes were all bagged, neatly and piled up in the hall just outside the room. Boyd slid into the hole on the vault and Kenny handed him the briefcase.

"Hey, Boyd, what is that stuff that in there?"

"Semtex, dipshit. Not something I'd trust any of you with," answered Boyd, as he attached the blocks to the exposed concrete. "But I wouldn't concern myself with that. Soon you'll be rich and that's all anyone cares about, right? Now I suggest you prepare to move quickly because once we blow the fuse on this thing, we won't have much time." Boyd crawled back out of the hole and picked up a backpack off the floor that Luke had brought in with him. He opened it up and handed Kenny a gas mask, which he promptly put on. "Now, we're counting on you. Do not let us down. You hear me?" Boyd stared at him as if to dare him to try anything with his money.

"Of course, Boyd."

Boyd returned to the hostages alone and called Delia's cell phone again. "Talk," Cody told him.

"I highly recommend you not take lose track of that jezebel of mine. I think she'd look absolutely stunning with a bullet hole between her eyes. So little faith y'all seem to have but… occasionally we may find a redeemable soul amongst the wicked. See that boy on the roof?"

Delia hesitated to even look, knowing that it would skew her judgment if she was emotional. Instead she moved further back, so no one would be able to see her. She did not realize that Cody had noticed her. A child was not part of the original plan. It was supposed to be a young woman, about Delia's age. "You know that if-"

"There is no convincing me, Detective. I am the one with the winning hand and y'all are just along for the ride until I am good and ready to play it. Now, do you see him?" Boyd repeated, condescendingly.

"I do."

"You will take the keys to my car from my woman out there and you will lock the car. I am not gonna bullshit you; something is gonna explode but does it really matter where? Would you rather clean up glass or that boy off the floor?"

"Delia, bring me the keys." She rubbed her fingers over them in her pocket before she handed them to Cody. She knew where the other bomb was but she was unsure how she should react when they went off.

"Don't," the SWAT commander told him. "He's bluffing."

"Would you risk it?"

"Also," Boyd continued, "you have five seconds to make your decision, 4, 3, 2-"

Delia took the keys back from Cody and pushed the button herself. She heard the sound of the explosion behind her and was pulled off her feet. Her eyes were closed the entire time and she could feel the heat of the smoke escaping from the broken windows of the hotel lobby behind them.

"Are you okay?" Cody asked her.

She did not want to open her eyes until she knew if the boy was safe. "The boy, is he okay?"

"They pulled him back over."

She sighed, finally opening her eyes to mostly smoke. They were crouched behind the SWAT car. Cody had his arm around her shoulder from when he pulled her back and quickly let her go. "Sorry."

"It's… fine." She saw the phone on the floor and pulled it to her. "Boyd…"

"You, my dear," he called her, "are full of surprises. Maybe your faith in me is not completely lost. There may be hope for you yet."

"Oh man… you are one sick freak!"

"Why thank you, dearest. I see you've managed to retain your classic charm in all this chaos. Now, may I please speak to someone with a little authority?"

"Gladly." She pushed the phone away from her, looking disgusted with it, to Cody.

"What do you want now?" Cody asked.

"I'd simply like to inform you that I will now be releasing hostages in five minute intervals. The first is coming out now."

Boyd hung up the phone and returned to the basement. When Delia had pushed the button that blew up the hotel lobby, she also activated the Semtex in the vault. It destroyed the concrete at the bottom of the vault, leaving a hole down into an old subway station. Kenny was in the vault with the smoke, wearing his gasmask, throwing the bags of money and valuables out of the hole, down into the subway. Luke, who had played a hostage, was now in the subway, with a car, loading all the bags Kenny threw down to him. Trey was put in charge of releasing the hostages in five minutes intervals.

Unable to learn anything about how progress was going in the bank, Delia started to worry slightly. "What's wrong? Cody inquired.

"Heh, what isn't? I can't believe Boyd would hurt that kid."

"I don't think so. I think he knew we wouldn't let it happen."

In the subway, Luke was just finishing loading up the last of the bags. "Is that the last of them?" Kenny questioned Boyd.

"It is. Give me the gas mask." Kenny passed the mask back to Boyd who handed him a backpack. "Put on the change of clothes in here otherwise people will be able to smell smoke on you. Now you and Luke get back to Harlan County and you leave all that money with Bo. You take the busiest streets and tell yourselves, 'there's no hurry' and don't forget that no one suspects you because you were both unseen. Trey and I will finish up here. Don't even dream of screwin' us over on this one. It won't just be me you'll have to worry about. Out."

Half an hour later, with all the hostages gone Boyd and Trey simply surrendered to authorities. Delia finally felt relief, knowing the money was out of New York and no one would have any idea where to look. She was ready to walk away with her head held high and find a private place to laugh about how well she had played everyone. "Delia," Cody called her, "I still need to talk to you and then you're going to need to make a statement."

"Uh but I… yeah, okay."

A patrol officer stood with her on site while they waited for Cody to be done looking over what was left behind in the bank. His partner Damien arrived shortly after to assist him. It was time which Delia used to contemplate what to say. She started to get nervous again since she was thinking of a huge list of questions she could get. When Cody came back out, Delia just wanted to get the situation over with, so she could leave.

He could see that she was nervous by the constant wringing of her hands. "Are you okay?"

"I just don't want to be here longer than I have to. I want to go home and get all my junk out of his place before I have to see him again."

"His records say he's living in Kentucky. You're there too?"

"Yeah."

"Are you listed as living together?"

"No, I have my own place."

"You want to tell me where it is?"

"Not really," she smiled, like she wanted to laugh.

To her surprise, Cody smiled back at her, "fair enough. I guess I was a little overeager." Delia only smiled unsure what exactly he was trying to do. "So anyway," he seemed slightly embarrassed, running a hand back through his hair, "it seems he used Semtex to blow a hole in the bottom of the vault, using the vault as a kind of impact absorber to minimize damage to the bank itself. How did he become so familiar with explosives?"

Delia instantly got angry but refused to show it on her face. She felt like he was trying to play her, flirting with her to get her to let something slip. She figured two could play at that game. She crossed her arms, cradling herself like it was cold. "He used to mine coal and he was in the military for a little while but I think it mostly it comes from his family. They've all been in and out of jail repeatedly for much smaller scale operations and drugs and stuff: his dad, his brothers, his cousins."

"Did he ever mention a person he felt he could trust more than anyone or a place he thought was safe?"

Delia knew he was fishing for the location of the money. "He always said he trusted me more than anyone but I don't know if that's valid anymore. I mean, he did try to blow me up."

"Did he mention if he- I'm sorry, are you cold?"

"No, no, it's fine. It's just a little brisk for my taste." She felt like laughing maniacally when he started taking off his overcoat, since she had accomplished her intention.

"Here, take my coat."

"No, it's fine, really. I just-"

"Take it." He extended it around her should, leaving her no choice in the matter.

"Oh okay. So what were you going to say?" She covered her mouth with her hand and coughed to hide her smile.

"Did he ever tell you if he had come to New York before?"

"Yeah, actually, he did, which is kind of sloppy work on his part. He said he wanted us to come here and he wanted to know what we were going to see ahead of time."

Cody turned his head sideways and Delia pulled the collar of his coat closer around her neck. "How is it you consider him informing you of his previous visit sloppy work?"

"Boyd may not have seemed like much from out here but I bet once you got in there, you realized how much you underestimated him. He's very bright. I imagine if he planned something like this, he would only tell me what he thought was irrelevant."

"So what did he tell you?"

Delia pressed her hand to her chin as she thought. Her hands were covered by the long sleeves of Cody's coat and she could smell his scent on it. "The only other thing he mentioned was the hotel. Kept saying it was in the perfect spot. I guess… now I know what he meant. Ugh! I can't believe I was so stupid!" She smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand. "Why did I ever think he'd change? Doing stupid shit like this just runs in his family." She crossed her arms and pouted slightly.

"Just because something runs in your family, doesn't mean you have to pick it up."

"It does for Boyd. It's all the Crowders know how to do. Now I can't even go home," she cracked her voice. "His family won't take too kindly to me leavin' him here to rot," she copied Boyd's accent. "There isn't much they do take kindly to."

"You kind of need to stay in New York anyway until we're sure we can convict him," Cody said quickly.

"Really?" Delia seemed surprised.

"No, I'd just like you to," he smiled sweetly, lowering his head, like he was embarrassed.

Delia returned the smile but started freaking out in her head, wondering what the Detectives intentions were. "I guess I could stay. I mean, I did put in for a week off at work but I can't be here longer than that."

"It's plenty of time. Let me find you another hotel to stay at."

"I guess it isn't possible to stay here anymore."

The hotel Cody took her to, had a fish tank in the lobby and Delia stood for sometime staring at the fish and running her hand along the glass, scaring them. When she finally parted from the tank to go pay, Cody had already paid for her. "You didn't have to…"

He held up his hand to stop her, "I'm the one who convinced you to stay."

"Well, yeah but…" Delia decided to take full advantage of having his attention, figuring it could only help. She looked up at him slowly, held her hands behind her back and tapped the floor with the tip of her shoe. "I wouldn't have agreed to stay if I didn't want to."

"Then I guess we both win. Hold on to my coat. I'll get it back from you tomorrow."

"What?"

"Did I not tell you? You're coming to lunch with me."

"Oh, well, it's nice to know where I'm going to be the next day, even if it is against my will."

"It is. Goodnight."

The first thing Delia did when she got into her room was call Nathaniel. He asked her more questions than she could think to ask him. "Did everything go right?"

"I think so but unfortunately I am going to have to stay the rest of the week."

"Why?!" he got mad suddenly. "You shouldn't have even left. He could've taken someone else. Anyone else!"

"I need to help convict him. I just have to do that and I'll be back."

"There's something I should probably tell you. A guy from the Marshals' office was outside our house just a few minutes ago. May Lynne went to tell him you weren't here and he started asking her a bunch of questions about you and Boyd and your relationship status. She just said you were on vacation. She didn't say anything about where you went." Delia stood silent as her heart sunk, thinking they may have gotten to Bo, who could have admitted he was going to stash the money for Boyd. "Delia… what do we do?"

"You don't do anything, Nathaniel."

"If I need to act, just tell me."

"Wait… just let me think," she sighed. Delia figured the only way to throw suspicion off herself was to throw Boyd under the bus. "Skip school tomorrow. You know, Raylan Givens? The douchebag? Go straight to Raylan. Don't give any information to anyone else. You go to him and tell him that Boyd's in jail up here but don't say why. Don't mention me or anyone else involved."

"How is this going to help?"

"Once they know Boyd's in trouble, they won't bother asking questions or investigating. They'll think he was caught in the act."

"What does this Raylan guy look like again?"

"Oh you can't miss him," Delia scoffed. "He's the only r-tard in all of Harlan County wearing a ten gallon hat. He's going to want to know how you found out. You tell him Bo told you to tell him. I'll give Bo a call right now and tell him to support that if he gets asked. Don't answer any other questions."

"I can do that. Is that it?"

"That's the most helpful thing you can do. If I need anything else, I'll let you know when I call tomorrow."

Delia spent the entire following morning thinking about what she was going to say to Cody. When she originally planned the heist, she was supposed to get close to whoever was in charge until Boyd surrendered but it was never intended to be as close as she had gotten. Now Delia was worried she may be unable to leave the city unnoticed as she hoped to do.

On the date, Delia hardly paid attention to anything Cody said. She was more focused on observing him and trying to figure him out. He kept complimenting her, making her think he was only trying to sweet talk her so he could get laid. He made almost no gestures and the ones he did make were small and seemingly restricted, like he was holding back. She started to think he was egotistical but realized she was not making it easy for him to carry on a double sided conversation. When he did ask her questions, Delia kept giving him short, curt answers, like she was not very interested in speaking.

"You're not very good at this, are you?" Cody told her, bringing her out of her thoughts. It surprised her that he highlighted her awkward behavior.

"I didn't think you'd call me out like that."

"I'd like you to say more than a single sentence at a time. I'm getting tired of hearing my own voice," he chuckled.

"Hmm," Delia looked down at the table for a moment while she thought. "Well, I've never been on a real date before. I mean, I've been but just to be nice. I never even went on a date with Boyd."

"Now, was that so hard to say?"

Delia chuckled slightly, "kind of."

"Well, I've never been on a date with a woman who let me do all the talking. There's something I want to know and I don't want the answer in one sentence either. How did you end up Kentucky? You're obviously not from there. You seem more like a big city person to me."

"Probably because I'm from Los Angeles. My dad cooked and sold cocaine. When I graduated from high school, he decided to look for an area he could sell in with less competition. He bought an RV and started a trip that was intended to be from one side of the country to another. We'd stay in each city for about a month to see what business was like. If he didn't like it, we'd keep going. This continued until we reached Kentucky, where my dad claims to have felt at home. After he settled there, a couple other manufacturers showed up. To make an insanely long story short, they killed him and my mom. My boss was renting out a house she owned and let me have it for fifty a month. A sympathy favor, I guess. I've been stuck there ever since."

Cody nodded, "and when did Boyd come into that story?"

Delia waved him off, "oh, you don't want to hear me talk about that."

"Well, I did ask, didn't I?"

She was both irritated and impressed with his persistence. Cody was refusing to allow her to shy away from him. However, Delia was unsure if that should concern or flatter her. "It's not all that grand a story but if you really want to know, okay. When my boss initially rented me the house, I offered to do the repairs on it house as long as I was provided with the money. One day, I locked my keys inside so I had to break in." Cody smiled a little. "Dude, it wasn't funny," she laughed, hiding her eyes like she was embarrassed. "I had to pull the whole damn screen out and then I threw myself into the window because I was too short to climb in. I fell on my face and the fucking window just breaks. It just like, exploded for no reason. Then when I got up to see what happened, my keys fell out of my shirt. I had them in my damn shirt the whole damn time. It was not funny!" she laughed again, mostly because he was laughing.

"I'm not laughing at you, just the incredibly ironic sequence of events," he commented with a huge smile.

"Yeah, that's what they all say. Anyway, once I got the replacement window, I tried to put it in myself. The damn thing was heavy as hell and I put it in backwards the first time. Then I put in upside down. Boyd saw me screwing with it and offered to do it for me and he just started talking. The first thing he asked me was where I was from. I told him nowhere and he told me I came a long way. He was just… I don't know… so collected. Sure he had issues but he was still so relaxed and nothing fazed him. And he talked a lot and he was so interesting. Plus he's so smart… and articulate."

"So are you," Cody was getting sick of hearing about Boyd.

"Don't patronize me. I know what I am. I'm just whatever," Delia shrugged.

"I'm not completely sure you believe that."

Delia only smiled, knowing he was right. She actually had a pretty high opinion of herself in certain aspects. She had book smarts and was highly literate but hated her appearance, whereas Boyd had a lifetime of experience and connections but lacked the ability to look at himself objectively. "I'm curious," Cody continued, "what business it is that Boyd's family is in? You did mention his whole family has been in and out of jail."

"I'm curious what makes you so curious, Detective. Meth. At least that's what it is right now. It's constantly changing. Murder and weed are on the list too. You know," Delia leaned forward, resting her elbow on the table. "Boyd isn't a bad person. He's just… wrongly inclined."

Cody copied her and leaned forward as well. "Then why'd you push the button?"

Delia reevaluated her statement and knew Cody was bringing up a valid point. "I couldn't risk it. Not with a child."

"Would you have risked it for an adult?"

Delia wanted to smile but looked up at him slowly. "Yeah."

"So would I but I'm kind of glad you didn't leave it up to me."

She finally did smile and told him quietly, "your mom must've been good to you. Kids with good, doting mothers tend to have good morals. I should know, I'm an apprentice to a child psychologist. They tend to be very sweet kids, just a little withdrawn until they see that someone else can be as good to them as their mom is. What were you like as a kid?"

Cody looked down at the floor briefly then up at the lights, generally avoiding her eyes. "I don't really… well, I can tell you I'm from Georgia."

"Ah, so that's why you dress like that," Delia chuckled, drinking from her glass.

"Yeah but my mom died when I was pretty young but yeah, she was a strong woman. Kept my dad in his place until she died."

"In that case I apologize for bringing it up. I know some people don't like to talk about their parents."

"No, no it's fine. You told me what happened to your parents, it's only fair that I do the same."

"Personally, I'm no good at keeping secrets and once I get comfortable with someone, I talk a lot and I talk fast. Sometimes I lose my breath. My mom liked to talk and I sort of picked that up but it's pretty hard for me to get started sometimes, as you may have noticed."

"So if I ask you something, you'd have to tell me?"

"I'd be obligated by my inability to keep a secret."

"Do you regret coming to New York?"

Delia pondered her response for a brief moment. "Well, no one was hurt and I got out of a relationship with a guy who intended to blow me up," she laughed slightly. "I'd say things turned out pretty well given the occurrences."

Cody chuckled, tapping the edge of his empty plate. "I don't want to come off as weird or anything but I… like you. I'm not even sure why."

"Wow, thanks," she laughed and pulled her sweater closed. "Now this feels kind of weird."

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I just meant, I'm not sure what it is that makes me like you." She noticed that Cody seemed upset with himself for not explaining clearly the first time.

"Hey, it's no big deal. I don't get offended and I don't get mad."

"Really? What makes you think that?"

"I just don't think it's wise to explode at someone when the full picture may not be before you. It's best to wait and get all the facts before jumping to conclusions and come back to the problem later with a clear calm head."

Cody lowered his head a bit and smile a sort of sideway smile at her. "I like your train of thought. It's, uh, logical and realistic. You're not just cute, you're funny and smart. Most of the women I've dated lately are all look and zero personality."

"How did I get so lucky?"

"I'm curious as to why Boyd didn't come to you for advice on his plan. It's very complete. A lot of angles were considered. Did someone else help him?"

Delia smiled and drank from her cup. Now she was genuinely flattered. "If he did ask me for help, I would've done it just to make sure he didn't get in trouble. I wish I had something to tell you but like I said, Boyd's just too smart about how he does everything. He wouldn't tell me anything that might ruin his plan."

"Then how about you go talk to him for us? He's refused to talk to me or my partner."

Every part of the plan was working well. Delia had planned to see Boyd in prison to further sell the acts they were playing. Delia got to see him at the tables. He was standing next to one, leaning slightly on it when Delia first saw him. She ran up to him and hugged him tightly. "Hey," he said slowly, only lifting one hand to touch her back. He noticed Cody and Damien standing behind her and turned to kiss the side of Delia's head. Cody could not grasp how it was that even though Boyd had just tried to kill her, Delia still wanted to be close to him.

"Boyd," she leaned back to look at him, holding his face in both her hands and gave him a look that meant they were still acting. She kissed him hard, holding the back of his head with her hand. She kept her face close to his, "I told you I'd be happy no matter what we had. Why'd you have to do this?"

Boyd removed the beanie she was wearing and patted down her hair. "First things first, you look amazing."

She chuckled, "I feel like shit."

"All the more impressive. Second, I'm glad you're not dead. I could never forgive myself but I do forgive you. Now, I knew you'd be angry with me but you deserve better than a life of mediocrity. If you feel the need to withdraw yourself from the situation, I completely understand. I won't blame you for lookin' out for yourself. In fact I would deem it most wise."

Delia nodded and stepped back from Boyd, letting him go. "I guess it would be the wisest thing to do."

"You know, I've tried goin' straight before but this is… it's all I'm good at. Well, that and minin' coal and there ain't exactly as high a coal demand as there used to be. I didn't ask you to be part of this because I know the kind of life you want and you won't find it with me. Trust me, you'll be better off without me around."

Delia thought about it for a moment then hugged him suddenly, surprising him. "I know that… but I don't want to be better off, Boyd. I want you."

Boyd rested his hand on her head then whispered to her, "then you'll have me." She smiled up at him as she let him go and he kissed her forehead.

Delia turned to Cody and Damien feeling empty handed. Boyd had not mentioned anything of any value. She was certain they wanted either the location of the money or at least the names of his other accomplices but if Delia was not willing to part with any of that information, neither was Boyd. "I know I didn't get him to say much…" she admitted quickly.

"It's fine," Cody waved it off. "At least he spoke to you, even with us present. It's further than Damien and I got. Besides, I think I might have an idea of how to get to him."

Delia almost showed the panic on her face. She wanted to demand that he tell her how either she or Boyd could have leaked a weakness. It was unthinkable that such a thing could happen. She calmed herself before responding, "a weakness? Like what?"

"It's only a theory. I also find it best to wait and get all the facts before jumping to conclusions."

She only smiled, thinking about how Cody had so promptly decided to flirt with her the day before, even though she was just dating a man who completed a bank robbery. Most of their lunch had been spent talking about her and Boyd so it led Delia to be more suspicious of him. She saw Damien watching Cody smile at her and he appeared to be disgusted.

"Fair enough," Delia told Cody. "I won't ask anything else. I guess it's a kind of ongoing investigation, isn't it? Is that a question? Don't answer that," she scoffed, going around them to leave, laughing slightly at her own stupidity.

"Hey," Cody turned to Delia. "How are you getting back to the hotel?"

"I understand how it could have slipped by your notice but I do have two very capable legs. I can get myself there."

"We can take you back. It's not a problem," Cody promptly offered, though Damien did not seem to keen on the idea.

"Ohh," Delia put her beanie back on, pouting slightly in an effort to make light of what she was about to say. "I think it is a problem for one of you. Goodbye Detectives."

Delia felt her phone vibrating in her pocket and left quickly so she could answer it. No one was supposed to call it unless something had gone wrong. The moment she was back outside, she answered it. "Nathaniel?"

"Delia, I went to see Raylan. He's going to New York for Boyd."

"Oh," she sighed with relief. "Kid, I told you not to call me unless there was a problem. That doesn't sound like a problem to me. That sounds all fine and dandy. What did I say?"

"That you would call me."

"Exactly. Now, you hang up your phone and get your ass back in class."

"There's something else, Delia. Me and Daniel went to the store before school. Luke and Kenny were there but they didn't see us. They were saying that they were gonna ask Bo to split what belongs to you, Boyd and Trey with them." Delia froze for a moment, feeling a painful twist in her gut and then absolute frustration when she realized there was nothing she could do about it if Bo agreed. She would lose all her work and effort and Boyd and Trey would be in jail for nothing. She started to think her and Nathaniel would be stuck in Harlan forever. Having no control of the situation made her feel like she had failed already. Her face turned red and she started crying.

"I don't know, Nathaniel. I'm sorry. I'm supposed to take care of you and I can't even get us out that shithole of a city."

"That's not your fault. You tried."

"Trying doesn't count for shit," Delia scoffed, rubbing her eyes. She looked over the area as she started to walk away.

"It counts with me."

"Look, even if things don't go the way they were supposed to, I'll fix it. We will have what we came for."

Still inside the prison, Cody asked Damien, "do you have a problem?"

"Why would I?" scoffed Damien, crossing his arms. "I mean, you only jeopardized our case by getting close to the informant. Why would that bother me?"

"So now you suddenly care where I go when I'm not working?"

"No, no, I care when you're out spending that time with a person who could be a co-conspirator or did that just happen to skip past your powers of deduction, moron? Why do you even like her? You two have nothing in common."

"I like her because she doesn't go around sucking the life out of everything around her," Cody finally admitted, "like someone I know."

Damien laughed, "you know, I don't think so. I think you just want to fuck her. If she did have a hand in forming the heist, then she's a fucking genius, she's got that other genius for a boyfriend and you think she wants you? Honestly, I find that hard to believe and stomach. As much as I know you think this is just an obnoxious judgment, I don't think she's all that into you. I think… she's using you."

Cody was clearly considering what Damien was saying to him and employing Delia's wait and think tactic. "I can see how you'd think that," he said slowly and Damien was surprised he did not freak out completely. "But you forgot something: I was the one who started flirting with her."

"It may just mean she didn't choose to use you until you came to her. Either way there's a pretty simple way to test her and find out. We need a way to need a way to get to Crowder, this is it."

When Delia got back to the hotel, she lay on the bed and simply stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, contemplating her options and trying to imagine worse situations than the one she was in to make it seem less horrible. She decided to call Bo to pretty much beg him not to give away her money. "Bo, it's Delia," she spoke slowly.

"I figured you'd be callin' me up soon but I want you to know, you got nothin' to be worryin' about. I ain't gonna let those boys take your money. Honestly, I'm all too happy to have Boyd back in the game and he's real fond of you. There's that and your boy came up here just a bit ago."

"My brother? He went to see you?"

"That he did. Took some real nads for that kid to walk up in here. Told me all about your folks and your work and that fancy school you wanna send him to. Had me bawlin' like a baby when he was gone. He's real fond of you too. Admires your work. I imagine that's why he came here; to make sure all your effort didn't go to waste and I promise you, it will not."

"Wow… um, thanks, Bo. I didn't think you'd care."

"Whether I'm happy with him or not, Boyd does not become any less my son and his piece of the pie is included in that deal. I won't have him incarcerated only to come home to a whole lot of nothin'."

"Bo, why are you so nice to me? Boyd warned me about you but you never gave me any trouble. Why?"

"You're the closest thing I have to a daughter. Ava never did act too much like family and she ain't too fond of me either. Plus, I'm awful impressed with this scheme you managed to cook up all on your own. I never seen a woman take so much initiative. Just know that as long as you're in Harlan County, my people will look out for you and yours."

Delia had not felt as relieved as when she got off the phone with Bo in a long time. He made her feel safe and looked out for, which no one had done since her parents were killed. She spent all her time looking out for Nathaniel that she forgot what it was like to be taken care of. She started to imagine herself living with Boyd and the house they would have and she slapped herself in the face suddenly. "No, that's not…" She sat up and covered her face. "That's not how I am. I don't do these things because I want to." Delia looked over at the clock on the nightstand and found it was too early to go to sleep but also too dark outside for her to want to go out alone in an unfamiliar place. However, it did not dampen her spirits. It felt like she had just gotten made by the godfather himself. She was so elated, she did not think twice about opening the door when Cody knocked.

"Hey…?" he said slowly, surprised to see her smile brightly at him, like she was actually glad to see him.

She held her hands together behind her back and turned from side to side. "What can I do for you, Detective?"

"I'm looking for the woman who went to lunch with me yesterday. Would you point me in her direction?"

"You know, I just saw her a little while ago. She was in my bathroom mirror and I thought she looked familiar," Delia smiled sweetly.

"Well, you do look an awful lot like her. We hadn't made any arrangements for tonight but I was planning on carrying her off away to dinner. I suppose you could come in her place, if you wanted to."

She shrugged and took her purse off the dresser. "Eh, why the hell not?"

All through the dinner, Delia was abnormally relaxed yet hyper. She was not awkward and shy with Cody like she had been before. She spoke a lot and had no problem looking directly at him when she spoke. To him, she seemed like an alternate ego. The place they went to was on a dock and had a tank with lobsters. "Hey, hey," she said quickly, tugging on his suit. "Let's buy them and let them go." They bought four and took them outside in paper bags. Delia ran to the edge of the dock and put her bag on the floor. Cody sat down next to her and they both started taking out their lobsters.

"Do you have pets at home?" he asked her after they released them.

"We have a rat."

"We?"

Delia gaped at the ocean, realizing the extent of her error and trying to think of a way to repair the statement. "I meant me and Boyd but I guess it's just me now. At least we don't have to argue custody." That was the first time that night that Delia avoided looking at Cody when she spoke to him and his stomach twisted as he came upon the thought that she may be lying to him.

"I thought you didn't live with Boyd."

Delia could not hide her embarrassment, "I don't but… I don't know. It was a bad choice of words."

"It's okay," Cody smirked, seeing how nervous she was. "So how'd you like the dinner?"

"It was okay," she yawned, "made me kind of sleepy. I think I should go back to the hotel."

"Sure."

Cody thought it was adorable that Delia fell asleep on the ride back to her hotel and on the way up to her room. "Okay, goodnight," Delia said promptly, not bothering to look back at him.

"Hey, wait," Cody put his foot in the door and opened it again.

"Yeah?"

"You, uh… I… you're-" He gave up trying to explain himself. "Oh, come here," he kissed her suddenly and she did not object. Delia wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him into the room. She allowed him to grab her ass and pull her legs up around himself. "Ohh, you're so gorgeous," he whispered into her neck. When he dropped her back on the bed and she saw him go to take off his shirt, she remembered the first time Boyd came to see her, after fixing her window.

Delia was expecting Nathaniel, since he had been at Daniel's house and was due to be back soon. She threw open the door, ready to hassle Nathaniel for being late. "Oh!" she gasped, feeling exposed. She never opened the door for someone who was not family, even if she knew them, so having a man before her, able to see into her home and seeing her in her pajamas, unkempt, made her turn red.

"Ma'am," Boyd bowed to her slightly.

"Oh wow," she half whispered and giggled, getting more embarrassed. "Hey."

"How's the window treatin' you?" he asked, his hands together behind his back.

"Um, it's… it's good." She turned and looked at it, glad to have a reason to not look at him. She felt so out of place in her baggy MMA t-shirt and boxers. Her nerves made her rub her neck, like she was having some sort of muscle ache. Her hair was thrown up lazily as well and she figured she must look a sight compared to when he first saw her and she had been properly dressed. To make things worse, Delia could swear that she could feel his eyes on her. She told herself everything was fine and that Boyd was there because he genuinely wanted to be sure he had done a proper job with the installation of the window. "Well, it's- it's only a window," she chuckled.

"Indeed it is. Do you mind if I… come in and have a look at it?"

Delia gasped but disguised it as a deep breath and only nodded, still looking at the window. Boyd walked in past her and she bit her lip as she shamelessly took a deep breath of his scent: a deep, rich musk that just made her want to take hold of his vest, press it to her face and inhale deeply. She leaned back against the door, looking outside, as though there was something of interest out there. In reality, Delia was hoping not to accidentally make eye contact with him but she occasionally let her eyes wander back to him, examining him.

When Boyd turned to tell her something, he was surprised to find her looking out the open door, maybe even a little disheartened. "Ma'am…"

"Yes?" She never turned to him, only looked down at the floor and he wondered if Delia simply wanted him gone.

"It's no good."

"What?" Delia put her hand just above her eyes as she turned her face in his direction, still hiding her eyes from him.

"I'm gonna have to take it out and start over."

Delia sighed, "oh boy, um, hold on." Boyd smirked as he watched her leave the door to fumble over things on her dining table for her purse. "Stupid junk." She threw everything off the table and took a book out of the bag, writing something in it frantically. She wanted him out of the house before Nathaniel returned. "What, um," Delia stood staring at the book, "what'll you take for your work?"

"I didn't ask you for anything, did I?"

"Just… just let me pay you." She was now slightly afraid to look at him, worried about what reaction she might get. When she heard his footsteps approaching, she stopped breathing and could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears. She nearly collapsed when he stopped next to her and she could see his boots and how close he was to her.

"Why not simply ask me why I chose to offer my services?"

Delia exhaled slowly, trying to regain control of her thoughts. "Because it doesn't matter."

"Doesn't it? I wouldn't be here if it didn't matter, now would I?" Boyd put one of his hands on the table, leaning on it. Delia nearly smiled since to her, they were perfect. His hands were just as she imagined they ought to be: big and calloused over, with long fingers, as though he had been working with them his whole life. She wanted nothing more than to have them on her and it only made her more embarrassed.

"Please… just let me pay you."

"Why? Are you just that adamant to have me out of your hair?"

Delia was starting to become irritated with him as she had no idea what he was suggesting or what he wanted from her. She stepped back from the table and from him, clenching the check book in front of her, like it would protect her. "Look, I don't know you and you're in my house and I'm not dressed and you want to fix the fucking window but you won't let me pay you and my brothers coming home and I don't want you here when he gets here!" She was out of breath from her rant and sighed.

"Well, why didn't you just say so?" he smiled sweetly and Delia almost collapsed with relief. "In that case, I'll relieve you of my presence for now and as for my labor, I'd be willing to accept thirty-five. What time should I begin?"

She rubbed her forehead, relieved she would be rid of him shortly. "Three."

"Until three it is. You have yourself a nice day, ma'am."

When Delia heard the door close behind him, she started laughing almost deliriously. "What the hell is wrong with me? Real smooth, genius, real fucking smooth." She sat on her dining room chair and dropped her face on the table, still laughing. "Wow... Boyd Crowder was in my house." She rested her face on her hand, looking dazed and dreamy. "That man is just… he's something else. Whoo… damn."

Nathaniel came out of his room. "What the hell was that? What was a guy doing here?" he asked her.

"How did you get in here?"

"From the window in my room, you ding-a-ling."

Delia scoffed, "well I guess we know which one really needs fixing."

"Who the hell was that?"

"Nobody."

Nathaniel smiled a huge unencumbered smile, "oh I don't buy that for half a second, miss 'whatever shall I shall do about this strange man in my house?'" Nathaniel mocked her voice.

"I didn't say that," Delia chuckled, trying to pass it off as nothing, even though she knew full well it was exactly what she did.

"Miss 'well I'm indecent but you better come inside anyway.' Miss 'oooh Mr. Crowder could we come to some other kind of agreement seeing as how I don't seem have any monetary means to offer you.'"

"That… is… disgusting."

"You know it's what you were thinking. I could hear it in your voice and if I could, he could. If you didn't expect me to be coming home, you would've let him take you on the damn table."

Delia closed her eyes, resting her hand in the same spot where Boyd's had been, "that man could have me anywhere."

Nathaniel crossed his arms, "gross." Unphased by his opinion, Delia stood up from her seat, walking past Nathaniel. "Wait a sec." He went to the window and looked it over. "Come here. You're handier than I am. Does this look right to you?" Delia went to see what Nathaniel was looking at and found the window had actually been put in upside down. "He sabotaged it on purpose. Even you would've put this in better." Delia smiled, trying to avoid laughing. "What's funny here?"

"Who cares? Who cares that he fucked it up? Accidental or on purpose… I get to see him again. God, he is gorgeous."

"Ugh, you're impossible. Well, I'm not going anywhere so fat chance getting anywhere with him."

"I mean, wow… that smile, those deepest eyes, that jaw line. Mmm, those hands and his scent… so masculine. Ohh wow."

"Gahh! Make it stop!"

Back in her current situation, Delia reexamined the man over her. She recalled just how precious Boyd was to her and how much she adored him. Delia realized what a hopelessly pathetic downgrade this Detective would make. "Get off me, prick," she sat up and shoved him back. "I don't want you here. Leave."

"Are you… sure you want to do this?" Cody seemed sorry for her.

"Get out."

Cody left the hotel and returned to his car outside where his partner was waiting for him. He had been listening to them and knew what happened. "So," Cody sighed, "what do we do now?"

"Now, we go tell the man what she did."

Delia was in her room, putting what remained of her things in her suitcases, telling herself things would be fine. "Raylan will be here soon, he'll want to move Boyd elsewhere and everything will go back the way it should be. He should be here tomorrow and set everything right. Yeah, yeah and I can go home and see Bo, get my money and then… I never have to see that place again." The thought occurred to her that leaving Harlan County meant leaving Boyd but she quickly put the thought out of her mind, thinking about where she was going to move to. She took her bags and checked out of the hotel.

Cody and Damien returned to the prison the following morning to see Boyd. "I believe I've already told you two that I've got nothin' to say," Boyd shrugged.

"That's fine," Damien pulled a chair out. "We didn't come here to listen to you. We just came here to tell you something."

"So will you humor me?"

"My partner fucked your girl last night."

Boyd's lack of a reaction worried them at first but as the statement had a chance to sink in, he did not appear as collected. He slowly ran his tongue over his teeth. "That's an interesting story y'all have cooked up but seeing as how I know her and I don't know you, you'll have to excuse my disbelief."

Cody sighed, feeling truly sick for lying about something of such magnitude, "she has a… scar on her waist from a bruise that never went away, from when her dad hit her with a vacuum cleaner cord the first time he saw her kiss a boy." It was something Delia had told Cody but he never actually got to see it for himself.

Boyd still did not seem convinced. "What did she say when you saw it?"

"Nothing."

"Well, now I know that's a lie. Every time we've been intimate, without fail, she insists I cover it with my hand. Anymore bullshit y'all want to waste my time with?"

"Yeah… this," Damien had a tape recorder and played the sound from when Delia was in the hotel with Cody, before she sent him out.

Boyd turned his head to the side suddenly, clenching his fists. He exhaled slowly, trying to keep himself from being angry. "Turn it off."

"What? I didn't quite get that," Damien turned up the volume. "Does this bother you?"

Boyd took the recorder from him, threw it on the floor and stomped it to pieces and sat back down like nothing had happened. "You got anything to tell us now?" Cody asked.

Boyd opened his hands, "nothing."

Damien came a bit close to Boyd, "dude, your girl's a piece of shit. There's no reason you should be covering for her. In fact, we can make a deal if you'll give us something on her."

Boyd leaned in as well, "there's nothing to give."

"Fine, you can do time for two people for all I care." Just as Damien was getting up to leave, they were approached by Raylan.

"I'll actually be taking this one off your hands," he told them. "He's out of your jurisdiction."

"I got no fucks to give," shrugged Damien, "take the pussy whipped bastard."

Once Boyd was released into Raylan's custody and he was taking him back to Kentucky, Raylan kept trying to ask him questions about what happened with the robbery. "So was surrender an accident or intentional?" Boyd simply turned away from him. "Wow, Boyd Crowder with nothing to say. Wish I had a camera."

He turned back to him, "oh I got plenty to say Raylan but not to you. Now how about you cut the bullshit and just get me where we're goin'? How's that, Marshal?"

Raylan nodded while he thought something else to annoy Boyd with. "Major Case says Delia was present at the time of the robbery." Boyd rolled his eyes. "I know you didn't come up with all this on your own and I know she's involved. So when we get back, we're going to have to pick her up and-"

"No, you're gonna take me to jail and charge me for everything I did, seein' as how you have nothing to prove someone else masterminded this heist."

"You know," Raylan started talking a bit slower and softer, "the Detectives told me about what happened with her. I just don't see why you still intend to take all the heat for this. What do you get out of it?"

"Hey, Raylan, here's an idea: why don't you mind your own goddamn business and worry about your own shit?"

"Well alright. Geez, touchy much…"

Already back in Harlan, May Lynne picked up Delia from the train station. "Anywhere I can take you?" May Lynne asked Delia. "You know… a place that's safe?"

"No where safe but I need to see Bo."

"Crowder?" May Lynne sighed, "fine but you're goin' to run out of favors real soon."

Delia was nervous about going to see Bo but so far, it was to be the easiest part of the whole plan. She was only one more step away from leaving Harlan behind her. All that was left was to pick up the money. May Lynne chose to wait in the car while Delia went inside but as she approached the door, she noticed it was ajar.

She pushed it open to slide inside, careful to do it slowly so the door would not creak. Instead of calling out to him, she walked quietly into each of the rooms, checking for signs of recent disturbance. Delia found Bo on the floor of his kitchen. "Bo," she went to his side and found a bullet hole in his thigh and shoulder.

"Delia? Where's Boyd?" he asked her.

"He was… delayed. What… what do I do?"

"Just hand me that phone on the counter. I don't want anyone knowin' you came here." Delia quickly put the phone in his hand. "It was Luke and Kenny. They want the rest of that money and I mean bad."

"Oh shit… shit, shit, shit. No… this is not happening. What… Bo… what am I supposed to do? I can't deal with them and-"

"You won't have to. Lucky for you they're stupid. I told them they'd never find it. I imagine they've gone to search your place and Boyd's. It's actually over in that couch. Grab it and get out of here. I don't want anyone on their way here to see you leavin'."

Delia went to the couch, throwing up the cushions and finding at least ten backpacks full of all the valuables they made off with. "What do I take?"

"Grab two. I've already divided everything up."

She quickly pulled them out of the couch and pushed back down the cushions before returning to Bo. "Are you sure there's nothing else I should do?"

"You just get your ass on out of here so I can get to a hospital."

"Okay… okay," she turned to leave but stopped. "Hey, Bo, when Boyd gets back… tell him I said that I love him… so much."

May Lynne took Delia to a middle school where they picked up Daniel and Nathaniel. "Can I take you home now?" May Lynne asked once both boys were in the car.

Delia hesitated before replying, "no. We can't go home."

"Well, where are you goin' now?"

"Train station."

"What? You… you're leavin' already? What about your stuff and Boyd?"

"Luke and Kenny shot Bo. He says they probably went to our homes looking for the money. I can't risk it. We have to leave Harlan now."

"But… I don't… no. I thought we'd get to have some time."

"So did I but this is the hand I was dealt…"

"Mom," Daniel called May Lynne.

"Hush, boy. But Delia, can't we just tell somebody about Bo and then they can deal with Kenny and Luke?"

"I can't just call the cops, Lynne. I set all those people up. They'd rat me out in a heartbeat. They know I can't go to the cops."

"Delia," Nathaniel tried to get her attention. She did not know anything was amiss until she saw May Lynne stare past her and cover her mouth.

"What?" Delia turned to find herself looking down the barrel of a 16 millimeter. "Okay… I see how it is," she sighed, "what can I do you for, Judas?"

"The bags," Luke told her quietly.

"Okay," she pulled the bags up from the bottom of the front seat and pushed them out to him. "Take your fucking silver, asshole."

"This ain't anywhere near what we took. I want all of it."

"Well, I don't have all of it, dumbass."

"Now I won't lie and say I'd put a bullet in your boy there but you must know that I'd have no problem puttin' one in Boyd."

"Hey, fuck you, man," Nathaniel said suddenly, "like that would ever happen."

"It could," they heard Raylan, "but I don't think it would be comin' from this guy. You know how this goes, Luke. Drop it." Even though he had technically saved her, Delia was worried about the question Raylan would ask her,

"How did you know we were here?" May Lynne asked him.

"Nathaniel sent me a text mentioning two wanted men hanging around the school. Good job, kid."

Luke almost started laughing as Raylan cuffed him. "Oh you are so finished," he told Delia.

"Get out of here," Raylan shoved Luke off to Rachel.

"What did he want from you?" Raylan asked Delia.

"The fuck should I know? Wait, why are you here?"

"Where else should I be?" Delia bit her bottom lip, now wanting to shoot herself since she feared she had exposed herself entirely and started thinking of a lie she could tell to change his view. She normally hated lying and it made her uncomfortable but since she hated Raylan, lying to him did not bother her in the slightest.

"I thought maybe you'd be out shooting someone or does that not do it for you anymore?"

Raylan picked up one of the bags from the floor. When Delia heard him open it, she was ready to pull his gun from his belt. "There's just a bunch of folders in here. He wanted this shit?"

"Nope. He had those when he walked up. I don't know what he wanted. He didn't get to say much. He kept saying shit about something Boyd supposedly gave me. I have no idea." As Delia was telling Raylan this lie, it occurred to her that there was no money in the bags at all. She was completely at a loss for where it could be. "I imagine it's what they wanted but Boyd didn't give me anything."

"Too bad. Maybe you should go whine to him about it. I've just brought him back from New York. He's in state while we figure this shit out." Delia almost smiled but figured it would be too relieved a gesture for someone who had just had a gun in their face. "One more thing before I let you go on your way," Raylan crossed his arms, resting them in the window frame so he could look at Delia, "Boyd's not all that thrilled with you right now, after what you did."

Delia turned to Raylan quickly. "What did I do?"

"Can't say I blame him but I would suggest confessing first and maybe he'll calm down."

"Raylan, what-?" He walked away before she could finish. "Raylan, you dick weed!"

"Now what?" inquired May Lynne.

Delia felt bad for asking for be transported elsewhere after she could have just gotten May Lynne and her son killed. "I have to go see him."

On the drive to the state prison, Delia kept trying to figure out where, if Bo did not still have it, the money could be. "I just can't believe Bo would do that to you," May Lynne commented. "I thought he liked you."

"I just feel so stupid!" Delia punched the dashboard in front of her. "How could I not know things would turn out this way?"

Nathaniel sighed, looking out the window, "we're never leaving this place, are we?"

"Harlan is like a tar pit and the more you fight to get out, the deeper it pulls you in, sucking the life out of you in the process," admitted Delia. "I'd like to say we will but I'm not entirely convinced."

"Nobody's ever on your side," mentioned May Lynne, "because everybody wants out, even if it's on a pile of other bodies."

Unsure of what Raylan was talking about and why Boyd might be mad at her, made Delia uneasy as she waited for him. The moment she saw him come out, she wanted to run to him but restrained herself for fear of rejection. He sat down in front of her and Delia realized that as she had when they first met, she was avoiding eye contact with him. "What is this? A Mexican standoff?" Boyd finally said. "Either you have somethin' to say or you don't. I imagine I wouldn't here if you didn't, so as long as it starts with an apology, get it out."

"Apologize for what? I don't know what I did wrong. Raylan told me you were mad at me. I don't even know what's going on."

"Then let me rephrase my statement into a question:" He leaned over the table slightly, talking quietly, "did you… or did you not… fuck that Detective?"

"What? No! Boyd!" She looked furious. "I can't believe that you'd fall for that. Did he say that?"

"No… he had a tape recording."

Delia thought about it for a moment and how they could possibly have anything incriminating on a tape recorder. "Sons of bitches," she whispered to herself. "Boyd, I adore you. There's not a word in existence for how much I admire you; everything about you. Now I will admit, yes, I let that asshole put his hands on me and that's what they recorded but I never fucked him. I never let him put anything of his, in me. I knew he'd keep me from your case if I didn't let him do what he wanted but he was too pushy and I wasn't going to let him take it that far so I threw his ass out. Not soon enough, I guess."

Boyd started to feel a bit embarrassed but mostly, he was relieved that Delia was who he believed her to be: someone more loyal than anyone he had worked with. She rubbed her eye with the palm of her right hand and he could hear her sniffling. "I'm glad you came and told me, darlin'," he held her left hand with both of his, since they were cuffed together.

Delia smiled slightly, "I thought it was best for you. So I could keep tabs on the case but I could've fucked everything up. God, I can't believe how stupid I was to think this shit would work. Boyd…" She looked up at him, trying to not explode in tears. "The money… I don't know where it is."

"Oh, I really don't care about that right now. I figured it'd be gone when they told me my daddy was in the hospital. Yesterday, when Raylan came to get me, I wasn't even a little bit pleased. I wanted to die instead of livin' wonderin' if you had betrayed me. With that business over with, I'm just relieved you didn't and that we're together, where we belong. As far as good days are concerned, I'm walkin' on sunshine."

He was about to move in to kiss her when a passing guard pushed him back with his baton. "Hey, sunshine, no physical contact with the visitor."

Boyd glared at him but Delia giggled. "It's fine Boyd," she pulled up his hands and kissed them tenderly before letting him go. He nearly swooned, hardly familiar with being on the receiving end of such affectionate treatment. He had certainly been in relationships before but Delia was by far the most passionate about everything she cared about and even the things she hated. Boyd loved it. He once thought there must be something wrong with him because of how angry things made him but the first time he ever saw Delia, she was in the Marshal's office accusing Raylan of being a whore. She proceeded to tell him that he made her sick and that she hoped one day someone would shoot him in the dick. Boyd could recall being unable to stop smiling and that he was disappointed that she did not pass him on her way out the door.

"How'd I ever end up with someone like you?" he wondered.

"What do you mean?"

"Someone so sweet yet passionate."

"Passionate? I guess. I am kind of obsessed with you." Boyd scoffed, nearly blushing. "Well… I do believe I may have caught you off guard, Mr. Crowder."

"I'm just… not familiar with being complimented for anything other than my criminal skills."

"Then prepare yourself for this; when you first spoke to me, I turned redder than a damn tomato while I thought, 'damn, that man's smile is fucking gorgeous.' I was embarrassed to just be in front of you. I wondered what the hell Boyd Crowder would want with me. The only answer I could come up with was 'nothing' but I still admired you. I just could not understand why you kept coming around me. I kept thinking, 'Boyd could never want me,' and damn, the first time you kissed me, I thought, 'did I just die?' I admired you so much I thought there was no way you'd ever want to be with someone as simple as me. That right there, is the inside story of my little girl crush on my Disney prince."

Boyd scoffed, "I don't recall any of them ever visitin' a state penitentiary."

"That's how I know I have the best one," Delia stated proudly. "Any dumbass can put on a suit. Only my Crowder can put on a suit and rob a bank."

Boyd lowered his head and smiled. "Woman, how I ever survived all this time without you is nothin' short of a miracle."

"That's for sure. Who else is going to look out for your ass?" She stood up, walking to his side of the table. He took her hand in both of his again, trying to prevent her from leaving as he looked up at her. "Don't look at me like that. I have to go eventually."

"You really gonna leave me here?" he asked her sweetly.

"You'll be home soon, baby, I promise." She hugged his head with her free hand and kissed his forehead.

Once she let him go, he slightly tightened his grip on her hand. "Please… don't go."

The guard returned, ushering him out of his seat, away from Delia but Boyd would not let her go. The guard finally decided to pry his hands off hers so he could pull him away but he was insistent on pulling back in the opposite direction. "Wait," Delia told the guard, who apparently, had not heard her. Boyd continued trying to writhe free of his grasp, which proved a tad awkward with his hands stuck together. Delia covered her mouth, worried Boyd would either accidentally or intentionally, smack the guard. "Hey, hang on. Boyd…" Another guard came and they yanked him back off his feet so they could drag him. It was almost painful for Delia to watch him fight so hard for just another minute. "Stop it!" she finally screamed. Everyone who was watching Boyd, turned to look at her instead. The guards instantly let him go and he fell back. With his hands bound, he struggled slightly to stand.

She ran to him, almost making him fall again when she hugged him. "I love you, Boyd… so much," her voice was barely audible since her face was against his chest when she said it. She held his face in both her hands and he rested his forehead against hers. He could see her eyes were red and it nearly made him want to cry. "Don't forget that I adore you and I need you as much as you need me. You be good, okay, otherwise next time we'll be having this conversation through a window. Don't you do that to me, Boyd."

"I promise, baby girl." She exhaled with relief and he kissed her lips quickly. "I promise."

When Boyd reentered his cell, which was shared, his cellmate jumped down from the top bunk. He had been visiting his son at the same time Delia had been there and saw her. "Dude, was that your ball and chain?"

"Yes."

"Damn, man, you're like fifty years old and she doesn't look a day over sixteen."

Boyd stared at him in disbelief, "she's twenty-three, actually and I'm only forty-two."

"Whoo, got to keep that pimp hand strong. You're one lucky son of a bitch, you know that?"

"Why, yes. Yes, I am."

Delia got back in the car and May Lynne could see she had been crying. Her eyes were all red and her lashes were clumped together. "So… it didn't go well?" she asked quietly, looking back at the boys, who had both fallen asleep.

"It went well, actually. It's just… I hate that I have to leave him here."

"Am I taking you home now?"

"I have one last stop to make today and then you take me home."

It was rather late in the day for guests to be showing up at the Marshal's office so everyone saw Delia walk in. she went straight to Raylan's desk.

He crossed his arms over the paperwork he was doing when he saw her. "Did you need something?"

"Can I talk to you… in private?"

"Are you sure? There's a few other Marshal's here. Sure you wouldn't rather bother one of them?" In the tired expression on her face, Raylan could see she was certainly not present to annoy or criticize him. "Am I in trouble?" he asked, standing up, even thought she had not answered his first question.

"Not now, Raylan. Seriously."

They ended up talking in the girls' bathroom since every other place they tried had someone present. "What do you need?"

"I need your help, Raylan."

He laughed shamelessly, "you want my help? After every insult we've exchanged and every time we've embarrassed each other. Are you sure I'm the one you should be asking for this favor?"

"Do I look like I'm joking? Raylan… I need you to get Boyd out."

He stepped back from her as if he were surprised at her request. "You're serious? I can't do that. I can't just walk in and demand a convict. I'm a Marshal, not Batman."

"You've done it before."

Raylan shook his head, "those times were different. I had something to bargain with then. Here, I have nothing."

"You can figure something out, I know you can. Don't give me that shit, Raylan. Not now. I need you do this for me. Who else could I ask?"

"Well, what exactly would you like me to do? My hands are tied."

Taking a moment to consider what Raylan might think if she brought up evidence, Delia decided it was worth it. "What if… what if I told you I heard Luke and Kenny planning the heist?"

One of his eyebrows went up and he smirked. "And just how might you have heard this?"

"I… stay with Boyd sometimes. I… hear things."

"I don't know. Sounds iffy at best, considering you were with him in New York."

"Make it work, man." Delia got on her knees and he panicked a bit. "I am begging you. Raylan, please, please do this for me. I can't leave him there. You owe me, remember? You never got my parents killer to trial. Do this for me. It's all I ask."

"Okay… okay, you're right about that. I can work something out but first… tell me why Kenny and Luke say it was you."

Her hand went to her chest and she made a face like she was in complete disbelief while she stood back up. "And you believe that?"

Raylan only stared at her for a moment. "I don't know. Was it?"

She smirked, crossing her arms behind her back. "Let's say it was. What then?"

"Then nothing. You didn't hurt anyone. Those dipsticks shot Bo and put a gun in your face. I'd like to see them try to point fingers. Is that why you're doing this for Boyd? Because you put him there?"

"I never said it was me but," she looked back at the door to make sure no one was coming in. "I recall them saying your guilt over my parents murderer getting away could be used as a get out of jail free card."

"That's pretty risky for an elaborate heist like that."

"I prefer to think of it as thorough unless you know of a better way to get out of jail."

"Well, I will say you're something else to come in here and tell me all this," he crossed his arms and Delia started to worry that he might change his mind about helping Boyd.

She laughed nervously, "you mean the girls restroom?"

"Why are you doing this for him? I know you're not convinced he'd do the same for you. Why help him?

She sighed and threw her hands up, "well shit, man, I don't know. I don't expect to get anything for this and… I still have to do it."

"There is something seriously wrong with you."

"That, I did know."

"I'll help Boyd." She nearly collapsed with relief. "But not because I want to. You're right. I do owe you a debt and after this, it's done."

Delia tried to restrain her delight but her huge smile, similar to Boyd's, was completely revealing. "Okay."

It was night by the time May Lynne got Delia and Nathaniel to their home. "I'm sorry about the money," May Lynne whispered to Delia as Nathaniel went into the house. "I know what leaving means to you."

"It's not for me though. It's for Nathaniel. If it was just me, I'd have no problem staying but I can't let him grow up here."

"I'd do the same for mine but I'm curious, did you ever consider how you'd deal with Boyd?"

She sighed, looking ashamed of herself, "I never thought I'd get where I am with Boyd. I didn't mean… I never intended to love him. I planned to use him for this robbery and leave him to rot but when the time came to do just that, my God…" She rubbed her eyes as they started to water. "I was so fucking torn. It was pathetic. I just… I couldn't. Sorry, I must sound like a complete idiot to you."

"I get it. Mine died three years ago. Well, he was killed, I mean. He had a gamblin' problem or gamblin' had a problem with him because at one point, I was gonna deliver him to a collector to guarantee the safety of me and Daniel. He had pushed us so far, I would've let someone kill him to protect mine. We're always taken advantage of. At some point, we learn to look out for ourselves. That's all you were doing and I'm not surprised that you pitied the soul you meant to damn, since you were spendin' so much time with him but don't blind yourself with your love. Don't forget what he is and what he's capable of."

Delia entered the house after Nathaniel and found him lying on the couch trying to go to sleep. "If you're tired go to bed," she told him. She went into the kitchen to get a drink.

"Fine." He rolled off reluctantly and let his feet drag as he went to his room.

Once he was gone, Delia threw the fridge door closed, as the day's events all came back to her. She had lost the money, had a gun in her face, nearly lost Boyd and had to beg Raylan for his help. She covered her face, walking back until she was against the counter and slid down to the floor, just emotionally overwhelmed. "How could I be so stupid? What the hell made me think I could trust these people? Now, we're never getting out of here. We're stuck here forever…"

"Delia…" Nathaniel had come back to the room and she quickly wiped her face and tried to pretend like she was just resting on the floor. She looked up at him slowly and Nathaniel looked down at a bundle of money he was carrying in his arms. "There's more under my blankets." When Delia said nothing, Nathaniel smiled and reminded her, "we're leaving this place. We're really leaving."

She laughed suddenly, "we are."

"What do we do first?"

"Pack your shit. We're leaving in the morning." He dropped the money at her feet and ran back to his room.

Delia could not stop laughing with tears in her eyes, "thank you, Bo." All night they threw their important items into their suitcases, carrying them out to the RV that had belonged to their deceased parents: the same one that brought them to Harlan. Nathaniel's excitement, led Delia to behave in the same way but the only thing she could think about was Boyd getting out and having no one there for him. All the while she thought about what she could say to him that would make her leaving okay but everything sounded awful. In the end, she decided to put it all in writing.

"I finished packing my stuff. What're you doing?" Nathaniel asked her.

"Writing a note."

"To who?" Delia did not bother answering his question and he turned his head sideways to be able to read it. "You got weak," he told her.

"Yeah… I did."

Nathaniel sighed, seeing how depressed she looked as she thought about what else to write, tapping her pen. "Why do you care so much? He's just another criminal and you know it. A year ago you were going to leave him to rot in jail and now you won't leave him there for a week. Delia… I don't want to be related to a Crowder." Nathaniel waited for a response from her and when he got nothing he simply continued, "if you don't want to go, then don't."

"That's not an option."

"If you say so."

Delia and Nathaniel waited in the RV until morning, until school was supposed to start. She saw May Lynne getting Daniel into the car to take him and went out to tell her the situation. "You're really doing it," May Lynne chuckled. "I'd say I'm happy for you but I'm kind of jealous."

"You could come with us. I've got more than enough."

"I knew you'd say that. I've kind of given up. There's just too much keepin' me here. You go on."

"I just need you to do one last thing for me," Delia sighed.

"I'm guessin' it has somethin' to do with that paper. A Dear John letter?"

"Something like that." She handed it to her. "Raylan called me this morning. Boyd's getting out today. Man works fast." Delia hardly appeared happy about it.

"You're not going to see him before you go?"

"I can't. I thought about it but there's no good way to give this news. I can't… look at him and tell him I'm choosing this over him but I know this is right, not for me or Boyd but for my brother; the only person in this who has no choice but to go where his caretaker is. That's how I ended up here. My dad didn't care what happened to us and I won't put Nathaniel through that. When Boyd shows up at this house, which he will, just make sure he gets this. Give it to him before he goes inside. He has keys. I don't want him being confused."

"I can do that."

Raylan had to physically go to the prison to sign for Boyd's release. He was surprised to see Boyd looking in much better spirits than when he first picked him up in New York. Though Delia went to see Raylan, she had not mentioned seeing Boyd or if they had mended their situation. "You seem more content," he mentioned as he signed some papers next to him.

"Well, I don't see a reason not to be."

"So should I assume you've fixed things with Delia?"

"There was nothin' to fix. Only a misunderstandin' that needed explainin'." Boyd leaned against the wall, smiling the whole time.

"What're you going to do first after I turn you loose?"

"What do you think? It's not exactly overflowin' with pleasant company in here and… tendin' to the needs of the flesh have an inclination to be a bit precarious."

"You know why you're getting out, right?"

"You miss me?" Boyd teased him. "Or did my old lady go play on your heart strings? Did she get you, Raylan? She does love playin' you."

Raylan thought about the things Delia had told him, knowing not a drop of it was an act. He shut the folder, proceeding to escort Boyd out. "There was nothing to play. She was right. I owed her a debt and now I've paid it. The only reason I brought it up is to tell you that you don't deserve this. That girl did you a kindness beyond what I'd ever expect anyone to do for you. She could've saved that favor for herself or her brother and instead she wasted it on you."

"I can assure you, it wasn't my idea. Anything she's ever done, has been of her own accord. I simply support her."

"I don't doubt that. I know she came to me because it's what she wanted and that is what you didn't deserve. She put herself out there for you. Keep that in mind when you think she's no use to you anymore."

Raylan took Boyd to get his car out of impound and left him to his devices. He sent a message to Delia to say that he had fulfilled his debt to her and that he would do nothing further for her if she ended up in the same situation again. She was already on the freeway and Nathaniel was holding her phone. "You're no longer of any importance, Marshal," he whispered to himself and deleted the message.

All day May Lynne waited anxiously, watching the house but she briefly left the letter on her coffee table while she went to the bathroom. Daniel was watching TV and heard a car park across the street. He was unsure if his mom would approve but he grabbed the letter anyway and ran outside to be sure he got to Boyd before he could enter the house. "Crowder," he called him, trying not to sound rude or obnoxious, after everything May Lynne had told him about Boyd. He held the letter out to him, saying nothing else.

"Who's it from?" Boyd inquired before Daniel could leave.

"Uh, Delia." He promptly ran back home eager to get to watch Boyd's reaction to the letter.

Boyd was now nervous, thinking maybe Delia changed the locks to the house and no longer wanted anything to do with him. He was unsure how she could make that decision in one night but he certain whatever it was, it was nothing good. He leaned against a column at the top of the stairs of the porch as he opened the letter:

Boyd, I know this probably isn't the way you'd prefer to receive information like this. In any other situation, I would agree with you. However, this particular situation does not simply include you and me. When we first met, I was none too happy to be stuck in Harlan but being with you made it all irrelevant. I've been happy here ever since you came into my life. I would stay in Harlan, if not for Nathaniel but I can't let him grow up here. This is not what I've chosen for myself. It's kind of like being a parent in that it's not what's best for me or simply what I want but what's best for the innocent party involved. As for your receiving this information in this form, I had no choice. I couldn't stand the idea of facing you with this because it would be pointless. You couldn't change my mind and I can't ask you come. There would be no debate. It had to be done and I just couldn't stand to see your reaction. That said, I'm leaving Kentucky. I can't say where, seeing as how I don't know yet. I don't expect you to like this, seeing as how neither do I. Just know that I didn't want this. I just wanted you but responsibility demands sacrifice.

Delia

He could hardly believe, even with her explanation for why she did not, that Delia gave him this message in the form of a letter. He reread it several times over, hoping he would wake, still in jail.

May Lynne saw Daniel standing out the window. "What're you doing?"

"He read the letter."

"Wha-?" She smacked his head. "Next time mind your own damn business."

Boyd entered the house anyway and quickly wished he had not. It looked like a skeleton of what it was. They had left a lot of the furniture behind but other than that, the rooms were barren like they had left a year ago. As Boyd knew, Delia was not much of a people person and getting her to feel comfortable with anyone new was always difficult so he often visited her at her home instead of his own. He nearly spent as much time in the house as they did.

He sat in a chair in the living room, the one he always used. He closed his eyes, recalling one occasion when he had fallen asleep waiting for Delia to come out of the shower and heard Nathaniel return home. He pretended to still be sleeping.

Nathaniel approached the chair, seeing him in it. "Ugh… home wrecker," he mumbled. "Why couldn't you ruin someone else's life?"

"Nathaniel," Delia called him. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"What am I doing? What are you doing? Taking showers when this douchebag is in the house. Coming out here in your damn towel."

"I've taken showers with him before."

"Why would you say that to me?! Argh, I use that tub!"

"It's my business… and you're twelve. Go dick around outside with your friends."

"Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you? I don't have friends. I'm that weird kid whose parents got killed and now everyone thinks I have issues," Nathaniel scoffed.

"What about Daniel?"

"May Lynne took him to get new clothes, so… sucks for you. I'm stuck here today." He sat on the couch opposite Boyd.

"You going to sit there all day?" she chuckled.

"I intend to, unless he moves from that spot."

Delia laughed, "what've you got against him anyway?"

"Me? Nothing. Thank god. I don't role that way but I don't even want to think about what you've got against him. Oh god, I just thought about it. My eyes!"

Delia sighed, "dude, it's not your problem."

"Oh, it's not, is it?" Nathaniel got up from his seat and went to whisper to his sister. "At school, I was a weirdo before all this shit. When it started and kids started hearing about it from their parents, I became mini-Boyd. They call me that now. Except for the kids that like to run past me and remind me every day, 'hey loser, Boyd's probably boning your sister right now.' Oh but they switch it up. There are some plenty more creative ones. I hate having to deal with it there and come home and see it here too. I just want him out of my life." Nathaniel returned to the couch. "I know I have to deal with it but you can't make me like it. I'll always hate it and I'll always hate him."

"How much?" Delia inquired and Boyd could hear her footsteps as she came closer to his chair.

"Infinity times infinity to the second power plus infinity more."

Delia rested her hands on the back of Boyd's seat, near his head. "That… is a lot of hate."

"Damn straight it is."

"What if I woke him up now so you could tell him yourself?" She rested her hands on his shoulders.

Nathaniel squinted his eyes, trying to figure if Delia was joking or not. "You're full of it."

"Am I?" Delia slid her hands down to his chest.

Nathaniel pouted, trying to deduce whether or not she was serious. "Do it," he dared her, not thinking she would. She smiled, turning and whispering his name in his ear. "Oh shit!" Nathaniel jumped over the couch, almost tripping on a rug as he ran to his room, locking the door behind himself.

"Damn. Run, Forest, run…" she said aloud to herself. "Hi baby." She kissed Boyd's forehead and went back into the kitchen. "It's funny. Your presence alone torments him."

"You knew I was awake?" Boyd asked her.

"Please. You snore like a damn dragon. No way you were asleep."

They heard Nathaniel's room open and to both their astonishment, he came back into the living room to the couch where he had been previously. Boyd stared at him, saying nothing. Nathaniel picked up his backpack from the couch. "Backpack," he threw it over his shoulder and was about to go back to his room when Delia threw him some keys. "Aw, fuck yes. I'm out, bitches." He turned and went out the front door instead.

"Where's he off to?"

"The RV. He doesn't like to be in the house when you're here."

"You don't say. Yeah, I figured as much from his hate speech."

Delia returned to him, carrying two glasses, "like you've never given one."

"Hey," he held his hand up to her, "now, I resent that. That was a long time ago."

"Fine but you still did it, didn't you?" He went to take one of the glasses from her and she pulled it back just out of his reach. "Sorry but you have to earn it."

"Seriously? What? You think I can't?"

"Humor me," she shrugged, walking backwards, stopping at the closed door to her room, "I don't like alcohol but I'll still drink yours if you really don't want it."

Boyd finally got up out of the chair to follow her and pushed the door open. "After you."

"Hmm… no."

"Then I guess we're not goin' in. It really makes no difference to me." Delia smiled, a bit embarrassed and put only her glass on a corner table in the hall.

"Is the front door locked?" He put his finger at the point in her towel where it was tucked in and pulled it open, making it fall on the floor.

She gasped, "hey!" He pulled her suddenly until she was pressed up against him. "You know, I have no idea and quite honestly, I could not care less right now," Delia admitted as she rested her hand on his chest, letting it slide to the waist of his pants.

"Well, as long as you don't mind, neither do I." He put his hand on hers and moved it to his belt buckle. "Undo me." She was all too happy to oblige him. "I'll be havin' that now," he took his glass from her, drank from it and held it out to her, as if waiting for her to take some. She shook her head slightly. "You sure? Because you're goin' to wish you had."

Boyd hesitantly opened his eyes to find himself back in the deserted home. He looked at the letter still in his hand and realized it was the last thing he had from her. He stood up out of the chair to go to what used to be her bedroom. Delia had left behind most of the bedding. He sat on it and pulled one of the pillows into his lap, burying his face in it so he could smell her again. "I know why you did this… but you didn't even give me a chance to see you one last time." He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and was genuinely surprised, seeing as how no one would know he was out of jail already. He was even more surprised to find that it was a text from Nathaniel with a picture of a sign saying, "Tennessee Welcomes You." Under the picture Nathaniel had typed, "lolz in your face. My sister loves me more."

Boyd nearly laughed, "oh, thank you, boy. Now I know where you are."

Nathaniel could hardly stop finding himself brilliant for his final act of contempt toward Boyd. He went to sit next to Delia in the passenger seat. "So, you know where we're going yet?"

"Currently, we're going to Manolo's."

"Dude, no way! I haven't seen that asshole in forever! Like, since Mom and Dad died. Oh man, this is going to kickass. Still, don't you think it's kind of close to Kentucky?"

"Well, I'll figure that when we get there. Basically, I don't want to stop driving until we get somewhere with people we know. Should only be about sixteen hours. We can get there by tonight if we don't stop at all."

"Nice." Nathaniel heard his phone do its message tone and he checked without a second thought. It was a text back from Boyd: "I'm going to find you." He put the phone back to sDeliap quickly. Unaware of the public setting on his Facebook posts, Nathaniel continued giving away their position.

Manolo was Delia and Nathaniel's older cousin, by ten years, born in Mexico. He moved to Austin, Texas when he began earning a steady living as a cartel boss. Nathaniel adored him and was blissfully unaware of how he supported himself.

As planned, the siblings arrived late at night to their cousin's home. It was not as large as they recalled it being but it had plenty of land to it.

"Listen," Delia whispered to Nathaniel, "say nothing about the money."

"I know."

Delia happily knocked on the door, excited to finally get to rest. They could hear Manolo yelling at someone inside in Spanish about answering the door until he finally pulled it open. He was wearing jeans and a black t-shirt with graffiti on it. "Ayyy, mi gente!" he laughed. Nathaniel hugged him suddenly. Manolo let him go and pretended to punch him in the face and Nathaniel hit him hard in the chest. "Eh, fool, you're getting strong, huh? Next time I'm gonna have to punch you for reals." Nathaniel laughed and ran inside even though he was not invited in. "So, what's going on, chola?" Manolo asked Delia. "You finally got sick of looking at gueros all the time?"

"I know I didn't say anything when you came for Mom and Dad's funeral but I needed to get Nathaniel out of there. That's no place for a kid to live."

"You got that right. Too many fucking white boys. We got plenty of paisas here in Texas. Eh, I could hook you up with my friend if you want."

"No, no, it's fine, Manny. It's just that I finally made enough money for us to travel down here and I was wondering if you could put us up until we can find a place to live."

"Hey, you know I'll put you up as long as you need. You come inside. I'll get that fatass Columbiana to park the RV in my garage. Eh, Juanita, pongase a trabajar, gorda! A la major pierdes de peso!"

"Chingate tu mismo, guey!" Juanita yelled back at him.

"Wow," Delia scoffed, "she loves you."

"Yeah, she does. Come on. I'll show you around." He walked her into the middle of the living room. "This is everything. That's a room and that's another room and there's more rooms upstairs."

"Heh, Mexican tour," Delia said and they both laughed together.

"Yeah, we lazy as fuck. One thing though about staying here. You gotta pull some weight, chola."

Delia was taken aback, "I'm not running drugs for you, Manny."

"Pssh, not that. All I want is for you to help me with the animals."

"What animals?"

"I'm trying to be white and shit. Have my own farm, y toda esa chingadera. You know animals. You can do that, eh?"

"Okay, yeah I could do that."

"Cool, cool. Come on. I'll show you the farm."

Boyd had been able to follow Nathaniel's posts into Austin, Texas but was unsure where to go from there. He went to refill his tank and as he stood waiting for it to finish, he recalled Delia mentioning having an uncle:

"My mom's brother lived in Tijuana. We went to visit him a few times. He's still there but my cousin moved to Austin, Texas. Oh, you met him, didn't you? At the funeral?" Boyd had met Delia only a few days after her parents' death and attended the funeral to see her, even though they had not been an item at the time. He tried to remember what she said he looked like, "short, buff guy. Kind of scary looking. Shaved head, stud earrings. Anyway, his name's Manolo…"

Boyd rested his head on top of the car as he tried to think about what his last name could be and before he spent too much time pondering over it, he remembered Delia told him that their mother did not give them their father's last name but her own. As long as Delia's uncle passed on his last name to his son, their last names would both be Quintanilla. He nearly laughed, relieved to be getting somewhere even when he had just felt hopeless a minute ago. He was forced to purchase a phone book just to look through it and find out Manolo only lived about five blocks away.

Uncertain if he was ready to face Delia, Boyd decided to postpone going to see her until morning. The moment he laid down in his motel, the first thing he did was start to ask himself questions about the situation and imagine what could happen when Delia saw him again. His imagination tormented him with thoughts of her rejecting him, not being there or worse, that she had run away with someone else.

In the morning, Manolo woke Delia before everyone else, ushering her outside to feed the animals to make them stop their bleating. She was mostly asleep as she put alfalfa in all the sheep pens, scattered seed for the chickens and let the cows out to graze. When she finished, Delia went back to her room, which she was sharing with Nathaniel. Right after she got back in bed, Manolo reentered the room. "I'm not going back out there until the sun comes out," she scoffed, closing her eyes

"I'm here for something else. I want to make you think about something, eh?"

"Fine," she nodded yet still did not open her eyes.

"Let's say a guy let's his cousins stay with him, after they show at night up with no phone call, no nothing, running away from a shit splat state, like Kentucky. What would think if the next morning, some fucking gringo in a three piece suit showed up at your door demanding to see the girl who arrived last night?"

Delia thought about it for a moment and her eyes opened wide suddenly. "No."

"So? What would you think?" Manolo repeated. "Because right now, I'm thinking, I put a bullet in his head."

In order to preserve Boyd's head in one piece, Delia reluctantly went to see him. She took a deep breath, with her hand on the door knob. She pulled it open quickly, nearly fainting when she saw him. Even though she wanted to, Delia could not bring herself to say anything to him. He seemed to be in the same position and they both simply stared at each other until he hugged her abruptly. She felt him gasp and start crying.

"I didn't think I'd get to see you again," he whispered.

Still in shock from realizing Boyd was crying on her, Delia only hugged him back, resting her head against him. She inhaled deeply afterwards realizing how much she would miss his scent. "I'm sorry… I couldn't tell you. I couldn't stand to see you hurt."

"Well, whether you like it or not, darlin'," he backed up so he could look at her, holding her face in both his hands, resting his forehead against hers. "You did this to me and it's all your fault," he said with a smile.

Inside the house, Nathaniel was telling Manolo to shoot Boyd. They were waiting behind the door incase anything weird happened. "What've you got to lose? Sure, the neighbors will see it but it'll be worth it. Manny, seriously, this guy is such a dick."

"I can't do shit unless Delia says it's what she wants. Right now, I don't see that happening. She looks pretty happy."

"Ugh, that's gross. Don't say that."

"What? You don't want your sister to be happy?" Manolo teased him.

"Oh god, no."

Boyd asked Delia, "woman, why would you put me through this?"

"I had to. I couldn't think of any other way to get out. If you'd done this to me in Harlan, I never would've left. I didn't want to do it. You know that."

"True but that's also why I can't believe you did. Tell me, what did you really run away from? Harlan or me?"

"It's what I said in the letter. I didn't want Nathaniel there."

"So you're tellin' me you didn't intend to dump me?"

"No. I wasn't leaving you, just Harlan."

"In that case, might you be interested in perhaps… buyin' a home with me?" Delia did not seem to believe Boyd's question was genuine. He held her hand, "I don't have to go back to Harlan."

"You… you'd do that? It's just… I've talked you out of rash decisions before. I know you tend to be prone to, how should I say…? Passionate choices."

He appeared angry with her doubt. "I put myself behind bars for you, woman. I did that for you. Not myself and sure and hell, not for the money. I had fifteen hours to think about it when I drove here lookin' for you, knowin' you'd used me to get you that money so you could leave Harlan and I never elected to go back. I fixed that damn window of yours like, ten times just so I could have an excuse to see you. I can't think of anythin' I wouldn't do. Damn, you could be my kryptonite and I'd still be here."

"I don't recall Superman being so scrawny."

"The point I'm tryin' to make is that I've put in so much work to be with you and I don't regret one damn bit of it. As long as I get to see you look at me with those big adorin' eyes, it's all worthwhile. So… might you be a doll and do this with me?"

"What about your… business?"

"I'll live without it. In fact, I really ought to be retirin' soon anyway." Delia still did not seem to believe him. "Why don't you trust me?" he asked, lifting her face with his finger.

"Because you've tried this before, Boyd, and it didn't work out so well. I'm just… I don't want to wake up one day, hating my life. I don't ever want to think, 'I can't believe I'm stuck with Boyd Crowder.' I want to trust you because I want to be with you. Just, please, don't make me regret it. As long as you have the power to let power go."

"I don't need it. I do need you."

It was in San Antonio, Texas where Boyd and Delia had ended up moving in together. After a year of residing alongside him, Nathaniel had become more comfortable with him to a point where he was grateful to have Boyd come pick him up from school. Nathaniel's new school had put him on the track team, so he often went home sleepy.

He went to the front passenger seat but Boyd sent him to the back. "I have to go pick up your sister," he told Nathaniel who lay on the back seats like a bed, yawning. "Sit up, put on your seatbelt." Nathaniel made a whining sound and turned around so he would not have to see Boyd, who had turned to face him. "I apologize for the misunderstandin' but I don't believe I was askin' you a question." Nathaniel turned back to him, staring at him with wide eyes and his mouth dropped open, like he could hardly believe he was making him get up. He took the seat buckle and buckled it dramatically.

"Are you satisfied?" Nathaniel scoffed, lying back down. "Tight ass."

When Delia got in the car, the first thing she did was turn around and smack Nathaniel's leg, telling him to sit up. He chuckled, "oh yes, masta, I gets right on it. Mm hmm."

She looked back at him, "what the fuck was that?"

"Boyd's trying to tell me what to do. You're not the boss of me, old man. Delia is." Nathaniel leaned forward and kissed Delia's forehead, as he always did as soon as he saw her after school. Boyd smiled back at him then put his hand around Delia's head, pulling her to him and kissing her hard. "Ugh, you people make me sick. You're messing me up. I don't know why we bothered leaving Harlan, Delia. We brought the worst thing about it back with us."

"Oh ha ha, you're so, so funny."

"I'll be here all week… against my will. Somebody save me. Where are we going?"

"Your track coach called me. He wants you to have running shoes like the rest of the team. He said Converse don't count."

"Ohh, I don't even like track. I just do it to keep me out of the house and I thought Converse were considered sports shoes?"

"Nope. Skater shoe because they're flat."

Nathaniel was none too impressed with the selection of running shoes at the store. He thought they were all relatively placid. "They all look kind of gay," he sighed, walking through the aisle.

"Just hurry up and pick one of the gay ones so we can see what size you need," shrugged Delia.

"Ooh." Nathaniel found some at the end of the aisle. They were neon green, orange, blue and black.

Delia chuckled, "you have my eyes. I was just looking at those too."

"You both love colors," Boyd sighed, sitting on a bench, worried this shoe business would take forever.

Nathaniel took them off the shelf to examine them more closely. When he flipped them upside down and Delia saw the price, they both cringed. "Yeesh, I'm putting them on my feet. Not in a damn museum."

"Yeah, put that shit back."

"Hold on," Boyd said, going to see the price for himself. "We can afford that. That's not a problem."

"It's not about what you can afford," Nathaniel commented as he put them back.

"Right," agreed Delia, "it's the principle. They're shoes. You put them on your feet and trudge them through dirt, mud, rain and sometimes shit. Why pay more than a hundred dollars for that?" Both Delia and Nathaniel looked at Boyd's boots, knowing they cost way more than any one of them would pay for shoes.

"What?" He tried to hide them. "It's just what I happen to like."

"We're all allowed one grand expense. For me, it's video games, for Nathaniel, it's music and you like clothes but we can't allow ourselves to splurge on the things we don't really care for. That's a good way to waste money unnecessarily. For more than a hundred, my shoes better be made of gator skin or bear fur or get up in the morning and make me breakfast."

"Right… well, if I have to wait more than an hour before you two can find somethin' here that's suits your principles, I'm goin' home and you two can walk."

Delia rolled her eyes, "you don't love me anymore."

"I just don't love waitin' for you."

Finally, Nathaniel picked out some simple, plain black shoes that he was proudly able to pay for himself with money Delia paid to him for good grades. "Are we going home now?" he asked no one in particular as he took his bag from the cashier.

"Yeah, I'm pretty tired too," yawned Delia.

"Here, give me the button thing." He held out his hand to her and she gave him the remote to the car. He ran out ahead of them to get in the car and saw a man he thought he recognized, standing against a car, talking on a cell phone. "Hmm… where do I know that guy from?" The man saw Nathaniel watching him and got into his car, starting it but not leaving, as if he were waiting for someone still inside the store. The moment the door to the store opened, Nathaniel remembered who he was looking at. "Delia!"

Both Delia and Boyd turned to look at Nathaniel so neither of them saw Trey draw on and shoot Boyd.


End file.
